Full-Frame and Crop Sensor Cameras - Understanding Lenses

Now that we've covered full-frame vs. crop sensor cameras, how do lenses collaborate with these types of cameras? Can we use any Nikon lens on any Nikon camera? Not exactly. I'll tell you why!

With a Canon camera, EFS is the term for a crop sensor lens and EF is the term for a full-frame sensor lens. With Canon, full-frame EF lenses can work on crop sensor cameras, but a crop sensor EFS lens doesn't work on full-frame cameras. 

Nikon's lenses for crop sensor cameras are called EF-S and the full-frame lenses are called FX. With Nikon, you can also use FX lenses on crop sensor camera bodies; however, if you mount an EF-S lens on a full-frame camera body, the edges of your image will be dark (vignetting). The image circle of the crop lens isn't big enough to record the image on the sensor and get the full photo; you'll get dark vignetting if you take a photo with a crop lens on a full-frame camera. The example below shows what the circle of view might look like through a full-frame lens. 

Canon's crop lenses won't even mount on to a full frame sensor camera. Nikon's crop lenses will mount on a full-frame camera body just fine, but the functionality is basically toast because of the dark vignetting that will show in your image. You can get an idea of what this looks like in my example below; the circle-of-view on a crop lens is smaller.  

Another thing to consider if you go with a crop sensor camera is the focal length of your lens. A crop sensor changes the focal length of your lens because it changes your field of view. To find your true focal length, you can use a focal length multiplier.

Nikon lenses have a crop factor of 1.5x. Canon's crop factor is 1.6x. To find the focal length, use the focal length of your lens and multiply it by your crop factor. 

Here are a few examples of how to calculate the actual focal length of your crop lens!

• A Nikon 50mm lens would really be 75mm (50 x 1.5 = 75). 

• A Canon 50mm lens would really be 80mm (50 x 1.6 = 80). 

So your 50mm lens would have a longer focal length, bringing you much closer to your subject because it acts like a 75mm lens. With crop sensors, you basically get free zoom :)

I will include my same example from the previous post to illustrate how focal length varies between a full-frame and crop-sensor camera. The image on the left was taken with a full frame camera; the image on the right was a crop sensor camera. The images were taken from the same spot with a 50mm lens.

When it comes to lens selection, remember that on a crop sensor camera, your lens will be longer than it seems.

Don't get too worried about the full-frame vs. crop sensor camera dilemma if you're just starting out and budget is an issue. I've used crop sensor cameras for years; they are still fantastic cameras, especially when paired with a good lens. 

It is smart though, to think about which lenses you'd prefer to invest in; if you can spend a little more for the full-frame lenses it will benefit you greatly if you decide to upgrade to a full-frame camera in the future!

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Understanding a Full-Frame vs. a Cropped-Sensor Camera

Lately I have been asked a lot of questions about cameras, which one to buy and what the difference is between a full-frame camera vs. a crop-sensor camera. SO I decided to spell it out simply so you can understand the difference between cameras that have a full-frame sensor and a crop-frame sensor. 

On a full-frame camera (a camera with a full-frame sensor) this is referring to a sensor-size that is equal to 35mm film. In other words, the rectangular sensor that captures your image will record the same area as 35mm film will (roughly 24mm x 36mm). 

A cropped-sensor refers to any camera that has a smaller sensor than that of a full-frame camera. Most entry-level cameras have this cropped sensor. If you were to take the same photo with a full-frame camera, using the same lens from the same distance as a crop-frame camera, the cropped-frame camera would capture a smaller field of view; this means a smaller piece of the scene projected by your lens. The full-frame camera will get more of the edges of the same scene, or more 'real-estate'. 

You can see the difference in the example below. The image on the left was taken with a Canon 5D Mark III and the image on the right, a Nikon D7000. Both cameras had a 50mm lens, shot with an aperture of f/2.8 and were taken from the same spot (the same distance from the dog). 

Every cropped-sensor camera has a crop factor of either 1.3 x, 1.5x or 1.6x (the field of view gets smaller). This means your sensor will be a smaller version of a full-frame sensor. 

Let's take a look at what each option has to offer to figure out which one is right for you. 

Full-Frame

A full frame sensor will give you better performance in low light scenarios, allowing you to have a better ISO performance at high ISO numbers. They also give you a little better image quality than a crop sensor. This is why they are considered "professional camera bodies" and most professional photographers pick full-frame cameras over cropped. Full-frame also allows a wider-angle of view which can be helpful for things like landscape or architectural photography. A full-frame DSLR will also give you a slightly more shallow depth-of-field than a crop sensor DSLR. 

Advantages: 

• Better low light performance

• Shallower depth of field

• Better dynamic range

• Wider angle of view

Cropped-Frame

Having a cropped sensor will lose that extra 'real-estate' in your photo. With a wide-angle lens on a crop-sensor camera, you won't get the widest field of view like you would with a full-frame camera. On the other hand, a crop-sensor DSLR paired with a telephoto lens will give you more distance from this smaller field of view. For example, if you have a 200mm lens on a crop-sensor camera, you apply the 1.5x crop factor to the lens (200 x 1.5 = 300). This would really get you 300mm focal length for the subject you are shooting, or in other words, FREE ZOOM! This can be very beneficial for shooting subjects that are far away, such as getting closer shots of an athlete in a sporting event or for wildlife photography. We'll talk more about the crop factor and lenses later on. 

Advantages: 

• More affordable

• Wider range of lens selection

• Increased focal length

• Lighter and smaller 

For most people, the decision is based upon cost. Think about the advantages of both, how they apply to what you photograph and what your budget for photography is in order to make the best decision.

In my next post I will teach you how to understand the way lenses work with both full-frame and crop sensor cameras. This can be confusing to understand so hopefully I can make it more simple for you!

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